art, sex and democracy video

This spring, Adria Arch, Catherine Bertulli and Patti Brady mounted a pop-up exhibition Appetite As part of the four day exhibit, they held a panel discussion called Art, Sex, and Democracy, moderated by curator Mary Tinti and featuring Boston based artists Nayda A Cuevas, Elisa H. Hamilton, Silvia Chavez, Kledia Spiro, and myself - posing the question, "How do you, as a woman artist, respond to social and political issues in this new age of anxiety?"

the politics of fear

The series "Politics of Fear" reflects the deep anxiety i have been feeling since the recent election. I have been disturbed by the trend of political leaders to link policy to personal identity - specifically an overtly dominant and angry maleness. The pieces fell together by chance combination of mulitple plastic horses the kind young girls collect I had in my studio, with the image of Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the widely circulated photo of a bare chested Putin astride a horse and his bromance with Trump. The idea that macho showmanship has replaced rational thought is at the heart of these pieces.

very small assemblages

The work in this series combine shards of broken Pre-Columbian pottery with 20th century plastic toy parts. Many of the pieces are a combination of broken Pre-Columbian (Mayan or Nayarit) figures, primarily the lower torso. Others are made with the feet from broken tripod bowls of the Chupicuaro culture of southwestern Mexico. (300 to 200 BC) The resulting "mash-ups" form a humorous contrast of culture and time, while at the same time reflecting a certain anxiety about the state of our cultural identity.

pronk

The installation "PRONK!" is an exuberant contemporary dialog with a 17th-century painting by Adriaen van Utrecht in the tradition of Dutch pronk still lifes (after the verb pronk, meaning to "show off").

Volp, who works in assemblage, combines materials including fake fruit, faux cockatoos, thrift-shop antiques and wood-grained spandex to address the parallels between the “ostentatious display” of commodities during the Dutch Golden Age and today’s conspicuous consumption.

Drawing on her longstanding engagement with the field of visual culture, she began by deconstructing van Utrecht’s painting through close looking to discover the relationships between the image and the viewer, or consumer, finding the narratives signaled by the objects and their arrangement, placement and perspective. The resulting riotously exuberant works humorously comment on the seemingly incongruous elements of the still life, not least of which is the titular live cockatoo (represented by a not particularly lifelike plastic parrot).

Assemblage with stacked tables and faux fruit. Reproduction on canvas of Adriaen van Utrecht Still Life with Game, Vegetables, Fruit and Cockatoo 1650, by permission of the Getty Center

Homage to Utrecht's Still Life with Cockatoo: Trickle Down - detail

Homage to Utrecht's Still Life with Cockatoo: Flocked Fruit

Assemblage with chair, flocked faux fruit and paint spills, Spode plates and parrot lamp disguised as a cockatoo. Reproduction on canvas of Adriaen van Utrecht Still Life with Game, Vegetables, Fruit and Cockatoo 1650, by permission of the Getty Center

Homage: Flocked Fruit

Homage to Utrecht's Still Life with Cockatoo: 21 Dead Hares

Assemblage with wood ring, hooks, chain and the artist' son's old stuffed animals taken apart and reassembled. Reproduction on canvas of Adriaen van Utrecht Still Life with Game, Vegetables, Fruit and Cockatoo 1650, by permission of the Getty Center

Homage: 21 dead hares

Still Life with Game, Vegetables, Fruit and Cockatoo, 1650 by Adriaen van Utrecht

Digital Reproduction on canvas by permission of the Getty Museum Center

photo transfer on fabrics, vintage decal, and oil mediums on Sintra. Image is a reproduction of Frans Synders' Still Life with Fruit, Dead Game, Vegetables, a Live Monkey, Squirrel and Cat

art history 101: fruitscapes - detail

stilllife in an age of anxiety

The origin of the Western genre of Still-life paintings began in the late 16th century to flourish during the 17 c. Dutch Golden Age, evolving into what is called pronkstilleven (still-lives of ostentatious display). Pronk paintings documented the upper classes’ abundant accumulations and in turn the paintings themselves became a commodity of value. I see a correlation between the social and economic conditions then and that of today: expanding global trade combined with unethical labor practices, special interest controlled domestic policies and rocketing inequity - all in the midst of abundance. Landfills of abundance.

In using these throw-away, made-in-China materials while referencing valuable works of art from the past, I hope to create work that in turn comments on the evolution (or not) of cultural perspectives and values, such as global commodification.

within these walls

The show Within These Walls, explores the subjective and transformative nature of “home” in shaping our identities. Various pieces speak to the expectations and influences that occupy our childhood, those myths, fairy tales, cultural and religious mores which continue to ripple through our adult lives, leaving a wake of unforeseen consequences.

babel/the alphabet wars

The relationship of Word and Image is a consistent theme in my work. I am fascinated by language systems and how structure and context affect meaning. And as with any relationship, there are opportunities for conflicting priorities, suspicion and miscommunication.

1.Babel - (Genesis 11:11) a tower built by Noah's descendants (in Babylon) who intended it to reach up to heaven; God foiled them by confusing their language so they could no longer understand one another

2.babel - a confused mixture of sounds, voices, or languages; a confused assembly.

Dyslexia is language-based learning disability. Persons with dyslexia often experience difficulties with both oral and written other language skills, such as writing, and pronouncing words and writing.

Dyscalculia – a mathematical disability in which a person has unusual difficulty solving arithmetic problems and grasping math concepts.

Dysgraphia – a condition of impaired letter writing by hand—disabled handwriting. Impaired handwriting can interfere with learning to spell words in writing and speed of writing text. Persons with dysgraphia may have only impaired handwriting, only impaired spelling (without reading problems), or both impaired handwriting and impaired spelling.

theology and geometry

"A firm rule must be imposed upon our nation before it destroys itself. The United States needs some theology and geometry, some taste and decency. I suspect that we are teetering on the edge of the abyss." Ignatius J Reilly